Rashba effect; A new energy-efficient mechanism

Movement of electrons is the basis of conventional electronics and mainly concerns their electric charge. Unluckily, it is now imminently reaching the physical limits for improving electronic devices. Conventional electronic devices do not apply the spin of the electrons that they employ, as electrons bear another intrinsic quantum-physical property called "spin”, which can be inferred as a type of angular momentum and can be either "up" or "down”. Thus, scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology proposed new quasi-1D materials for potential spintronic applications. Spintronic is a field of electronics in which electron spin is manipulated to yield a desired outcome.

The Rashba-Bychkov effect or “Rashba effect”, which involves the splitting of spin-up and spin-down electrons caused by breakings in symmetry, could potentially be exploited for this purpose. A pair of researchers from Tokyo Institute of Technology, including Associate Professor Yoshihiro Gohda, proposed a different mechanism to produce a spin current without energy loss from a successions of simulations for new quasi-1D materials based on bismuth-adsorbed indium that display a giant Rashba effect. Researchers said that the mechanism is appropriate for spintronic applications, as it does not require an external magnetic field to generate non-dissipative spin current.

Researchers conducted simulations based on these resources to prove that the Rashba effect in them can be great to generate spin currents. Comparing the Rashba properties of several changes of these materials, they delivered details for the observed changes in the materials' spin properties. Researchers said that the study they conducted should be important for energy-efficient spintronic applications and stimulating further exploration of different 1D Rashba systems.